Your Thurrock – New information revealed about predictive profiles for vulnerable people

A controversial computer system is being used to create profiles on vulnerable people in Thurrock. The system, known to the council as the “predictive modelling platform”, assigns “potential vulnerable people” a score that indicates whether they need attention from social services.

Council data from housing, education, social care, benefits and debt all contribute to the creation of a profile that is used to predict whether a person is at risk.

Big Brother Watch branded it a “terrible idea” which risks “profiling families and casting suspicion over their parenting abilities on the basis of high tech stereotyping”.